VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – The incredible 2023 season by the Manhattanville College softball team came to a close on Friday afternoon in the NCAA Regional Tournament. After surviving elimination earlier in the day courtesy of a
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) walkoff hit to defeat John Jay, the Valiants ultimately fell to The College of New Jersey for a second straight game to be eliminated from the bracket. The Valiants officially close the book on the year with a 39-7 overall record.
Game Four Recap (Elimination Game 1): Manhattanville 3, John Jay 2
The Skyline Conference Player of the Year Harker had one last bout of heroics up her sleeves of her senior season as she delivered a two out single in the bottom of the seventh to keep the Valiants' postseason run alive to defeat the Bloodhounds of John Jay.
With the game tied 2-2,
Melissa Lopez (Whittier, Calif./California) led off the inning with a leadoff pinch hit single. Lopez would be replaced by
Madison Gonzales (Azusa, Calif./Sacred Heart) as the pinch runner, who advanced up to third on a pair of sacrifice bunts by
Jayleen Torres (Bellflower, Calif./Downey) and
Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown). That brought Harker up to the dish, who lined a grounder through the left side of the infield to plate Gonzales with the winning run.
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) and John Jay's Jailene Santiago battled in a pitcher's duel that held scoreless through the first three and a half innings. The sophomore Mottoshiski once again delivered in an elimination game after winning a pair of them in the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament. The Bloodhounds recorded eight hits off of her, but the Valiant starter masterfully navigated around any traffic on the basepaths as she would get the groundball when needed to weave out of trouble.
The Valiants appeared to have scored the opening run in the second after
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) rounded the bases on a
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) triple to score from first. However, it was ruled Walsh had left the bag early, taking her off the basepaths and sending Parkes back to the plate. While the rookie ended up singling, she would be held there as the inning ended the following at-bat.
After Mottoshiski got a 6-4-3 double play to end the fourth and keep the game scoreless, the Valiants finally broke the shutout in the bottom half.
Amaya Esparza (Descanso, Calif./Granite Hills) reached on a leadoff single, but the rally would come together with a pair of outs. The Valiant catcher advanced to second on a wild pitch before Parkes drew a walk.
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) delivered the big hit, driving a triple to right field to clear the bases and put the Valiants up 2-0.
The Bloodhounds got a run back in the fifth with some two out magic of their own. Jordyn Prince drew a two out walk before stealing second. Maleea Gallaspy followed up with a single up the middle that was fired back in quickly. The rapid relay caught both Bloodhounds between bases as Prince broke for home. The throw to the plate sailed off target, allowing John Jay to get on the board with an unearned run.
An inning later, another two out rally allowed the Bloodhounds to tie the game. Three straight singles allowed Sidney Bankston to drive home the tying run in the form of Kelly Fajardo. Mottoshiski limited the damage there and would work around a two-out error in the top of the seventh to set the stage for the walkoff win.
Mottoshiski ends the year with an 18-4 record, allowing just the one earned run while striking out four. Her ERA will finish at 2.32, an improvement by more than two runs from her rookie season.
Game Five Recap (Elimination Game 2): Manhattanville 0, TCNJ 1
A rematch of yesterday's opening round matchup featured another pair of dominant pitching efforts as
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) and Elizabeth Gosse matched each other blow for blow with both carrying shutouts into the seventh inning.
The difference maker came for the Lions in the top of the seventh as they collected two of their four hits in the game. With two out and runners on first and second, Jaclyn Carifi lined a single to left center. Harker charged the ball a fired a strike to the plate that beat Ashley O'Hagan by a good distance as Esparza slapped the tag on. However, the home plate umpire called obstruction on the play as TCNJ was awarded with the run. The Lions looked to strike more while the blood was in the water, but Harker made another great play on a liner that was dropping to retire the side. However, the Valiants would be unable to find some late inning magic for a second straight game as they would only get one baserunner in the bottom half following a muffed throw on a
Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) grounder.
The Valiants were held to just four hits in the affair but still had their chances to score. The first opportunity came in the fourth. With Esparza on first with two away, Walsh knocked a base hit through the right side to put a runner in scoring position for the first time for Manhattanville. Parkes got under a pitch in her at-bat, flying out to left to end the threat.
Manhattanville's other golden chance came in the bottom of the sixth as Harker laced a triple down the right field line with two outs. A pop up left her stranded, sending the game to the seventh where TCNJ would ultimately strike.
Shinstine was saddled with the hard-luck loss as the lone run would be unearned. She finishes her senior season 21-3 overall after going all seven innings and allowing four hits and five walks while striking out six. She surpasses her own program single-season record for strikeouts in a season with 206 while also brining her career total to a Manhattanville record 561. Shinstine also finishes the year with a 0.69 ERA, the lowest single-season mark in program history.
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